Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird. In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naive to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the summer solstice celebration. That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo. First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.

Quotes & Awards

“Magical realism colors this tale
of a girl normal but for the wings with which she was born.”

San
Francisco Chronicle

“[This novel] should be remembered
for the devastatingly beautiful character of Ava Lavender and how she depicts
just what it is to be different.”

Guardian
(London)

“The characters are rich and familiar,
and Walton does whimsy with a healthy dose of melancholy and tragedy. The
storytelling is completely beautiful… A particularly toothsome and
pleasurable read.”

Globe
and Mail (Toronto)

“[A]n entrancing and sumptuously
written multigenerational novel wrapped in the language of fable, magical
realism, and local legend…Walton’s novel builds to a brutal but triumphant
conclusion. It’s a story that adults and teenagers can appreciate equally.”

Publishers
Weekly (starred review)

“Walton’s novel is both strange and
beautiful in the best of ways…This multigenerational tale examines love and
considers the conflicting facets of loving and being loved—desire, despair, depression,
obsession, self-love, and courage. Difficult to categorize, this is a mystical
tale, a historical novel, a coming-of-age story, laced with folkloric qualities
and magic realism, often evocative of great narratives like Erin Morgenstern’s
transcendent The Night Circus or the
classic Like Water for Chocolate by
Laura Esquivel. It is beautifully crafted and paced, mystical yet grounded by
universal themes and sympathetic characters. A unique book, highly recommended
for readers looking for something a step away from ordinary.”

School
Library Journal (starred review)

“In a sweeping intergenerational
story infused with magical realism, debut author Leslye Walton tethers grand
themes of love and loss to the earthbound sensibility of Ava Lavender as she
recollects one life-altering summer as a teenager…Walton presents challenges
that most teens will hopefully never face. She writes of love, betrayal, birth,
murder, affection, and rape—and wraps them in prose so radiant that readers
feel carried by Ava’s narrative. The heroine’s humor and wisdom as she looks
back at her life let us know that she is a survivor.”

Shelf Awareness (starred review)

“Using detailed imagery and an
almost mythical storytelling style, teenage Ava tells the history of four
generations of her family…[Teens] willing to enter Ava’s world on its own
terms will find themselves richly rewarded.”

BookPage

“Lyrical magical realism paints
four generations of women with tragic lives until a shocking violation fixes
everything…The story’s language is gorgeous…Disturbingly, a horrific assault
acts as the vehicle of redemption, magically bringing people together for
reasons that make sense only in the dreamlike metaphysics of literary device.
Gorgeous prose for readers willing to be blindsided.”

Kirkus
Reviews

“Narrator Cassandra Campbell’s
lovely alto grounds the magical realism that flows through this
multigenerational tale…Campbell uses rich Gallic tones when performing the
heavy French accents of some family members, and she playfully rolls her Rs when portraying Spanish characters.
In the moments when dark, violent things happen to Ava and her family, her
strong, warm voice offers a sense of security. Listeners are in for a strange
and beautiful audiobook experience. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award.”

About the Author

Leslye Walton was born in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps because of this, she has developed a strange kinship with the daffodil - she too can achieve beauty only after
a long, cold sulk in the rain. Her debut novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, was inspired by a particularly long sulk in a particularly cold rainstorm spent pondering the logic, or rather, lack thereof, in love — the ways we coax ourselves to love, to continue loving, to leave love behind.
Leslye Walton has an MA in writing. When she’s not writing, she teaches middle-school students how to read and write and, most important, how to be kind to one another, even on days when they don’t really feel like it. She is currently working on her next novel. Leslye Walton lives in Seattle.

About the Narrator

Cassandra Campbell, Audie Award–nominated narrator and winner of several Earphones Awards, has performed in regional theaters across the country and in several off-Broadway shows at the Public Theater and the Mint Theater. In addition to narrating audiobooks, acting, and directing, she is a commercial and documentary voice-over artist.

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